PM Modi to inaugurate key infrastructure projects in West Bengal on Feb 7

West Bengal Governor JagdeepDhankar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be present during the inauguration.

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of the second catalytic dewaxing unit at the Haldia Refinery of Indian Oil Corporation.

This unit, with a capacity of 270 TMTPA is estimated to cost 1019 crores and will produce advanced Group III Lubes Oil Base Stock (LOBS), which will be first of its kind installation in India.

Once commissioned, this will lead to import-substitution in the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat, a government release stated.

"Currently around 70% of LOBS requirement is being met through imports. With the commissioning of CIDW at Haldia Refinery, LOBS Production of the country will be enhanced and LOBS import dependency will reduce by around 8%. This project is expected to result in saving of foreign exchange to the tune of 185 million USD," the release informed.

A part of Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project, the 348 km long Dobhi-Durgapur natural gas pipeline, built at a cost of about Rs. 2400 crore by GAIL will be also inaugurated by the Prime Minister..

During the project stage, it generated 11 lakh man-days of employment.

"The Dobhi-Durgapur pipeline project will revive HURL Sindri (Jharkhand) fertilizer plant, supply gas to Matix fertilizer plant at Durgapur and will supply gas to industrial, commercial and automobile sectors and city gas distribution across all major towns in these states, including cities of Purulia, Asansol and Durgapur of West Bengal," the government said.

On the same day the PM will dedicate to the nation an LPG import terminal built by Bharat Petroleum Corporation built at a cost of Rs.1097.54 Crore at Haldia.

The LPG import terminal will cater to the growing demand of LPG in eastern region will help realize the vision of PM Modi to provide clean cooking LPG to every household.

The terminal will meet the requirement of LPG in West Bengal and other states in eastern and north-eastern India.

"It is noteworthy that after launch of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna (PMUY), LPG penetration has witnessed a phenomenal growth in the entire country. West Bengal, along with other Eastern States has also witnessed similar growth in LPG consumption. LPG penetration in West Bengal, which was only 41.4% in April 2014 has increased to 99.5% as on date," the release said.

Haldia dock complex is the main gateway for import and export of cargo destined/originating from Eastern and North-Eastern part of country as well as land-locked countries like Nepal and Bhutan. The PM will inaugurate the project which has been built at the cost of Rs 190 crore.

The commissioning of this flyover will result in uninterrupted to and fro traffic from Kolaghat to Haldia Dock Complex and other surrounding areas.

There will be a substantial saving in travel time and operating cost of heavy vehicles plying in and out of the port.

These projects to be inaugurated are in line with Prime Minister Modi’s vision of Purvodaya of driving growth of eastern India. West Bengal is going to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Purvodaya vision which is being implemented in mission mode to bring the state, and eastern India overall, at par with other developed states of the country, the government said in its statement. 

These projects will create economic opportunities for the youth of West Bengal through direct and indirect employment generation.